Rural/hills markets, they need more energy.

About a year ago, I was called into a listing which was located in the Adelaide Hills. The property was about 40km from my office, in a small but well known country town with an average time on market of 4-5 months. Not something that I would normally take on but in this case it was a referral from a close friend of mine and I could not let them down.

I took the listing on. Having never sold in that area before the owners told myself and my team what they wanted and we set the marketing campaign up around it and away we went. Within 2 weeks and only 2 showings we had the property sold at a price which was at the top of the range the owners were seeking.

It wasn’t till after the sale was unconditional that the owners told me that the local agents they saw had advised them that the price they were after was not possible or too high. Furthermore the reason they went with us is because we supported them in their wish for a high price, and succeeded. The rest is history, the owners moved on with lots more cash in their coffers than expected and we went back down the hill and continued on building a strong sale business.

Sometime later in early 2016 I received an email from a man who was seeking an appraisal on his home. He had found me through the agent profile section of realestate.com.au and asked for me to contact him. After a couple of missed calls I finally got hold of the gentleman and talked to him about his home. About 3 minutes into the conversation I asked “Can I have the address of your property?”.

To my surprise when he replied with the address, it was the house next door to the home I sold a year earlier. He then went on to say “I’ve been in contact with the old neighbours and thought I could talk you in to coming and selling my place.”

To be honest, I had to really think about it as to whether I would have the time to commit to a listing at such a distance from my office (hour drive each way). Keeping in mind I have a business and growing team to manage and I didn’t want to compromise the service I could provide that client as all clients deserve the best. I was also a little reluctant s I was unsure as to whether I could reproduce the success from next door as I knew that would be an expectation of this owner.

The owners were very open with me on what they wanted and what they needed to be able to move on and begin the next chapter of their lives. Again, I was advised that the local agents had advised them that the price they wanted was too high and they would sit on the market etc..

After a few more conversations and a visit to the home, I learned that these owners were selling to chase a 30 year old dream to buy another property. Furthermore, they are just great people who wanted to work with me. So you could say I was more drawn to the clients that the property.

After a month or so of preparing the house we we’re ready to go to market. The owners went with every recommendation we made and in turn we supported they right to want a high price and we aimed high. The house was presented as best it could be and away we went.

I think it came as a shock to everyone when after 10 days on the market and a handful of inspections, we presented the owners with an offer that was right where they wanted to it to be. The offer came with loads of conditions but just like it was meant to be, they were all satisfied within 2 weeks and the property was officially sold.

Both sales ended up being really simple and great results for the clients.

Ever since then I have been trying to work out how can properties in that area sit on the market for 4-5 months and we sell then in a matter of day, at exceptional prices much higher than any local agent suggested???

Weeks later my phone is ringing with people from in the area wanting me to come and sell their houses based on what we were able to do with the other sales.

Just today I’m driving to the town to meet a new client about the sale of their property in the area….

To set the scene, the house is on the same street as the other 2. I book an appointment with the owner for 830 am and I’m driving through the hills on the way to meet him. It’s the 30th of June, freezing and bucketing down with rain and foggy.
I hit a bit of traffic (the driving at 40km/h in a 80km/h kind) and just know that this is going to make me late to the meeting. I say to myself, “What is it with these people in the hills?! They all move so much slower, don’t they know I’m in a rush?”

Then it hits me. I know that people in country towns or hills traditionally move slower that city folk. Does we’re not in a hurry sound familiar?

The issue is that many rural agents, at least the ones my clients had talked to move at the same pace as their market… Slow.

I have learned that any property sale in any market especially a slow one, requires urgency. Salespeople need to approach each sale with that sense of urgency or risk failure and not hitting the highest mark possible.

The fact is, we took a sound strategy into a market that lacks energy and didn’t ask ourselves how long it will take to sell. We asked ourselves how fast we can sell it.